Plague Outbreak Kills 30 People in Madagascar With Hundreds Ill

(Bloomberg) -- An outbreak of pneumonic plague in the Indian Ocean island nation of Madagascar has killed 30 people, with almost 200 others infected, the Public Health Ministry said.

Seven of the deaths occurred in the capital, Antananarivo, where 43 people are suspected of having contracted the disease, the ministry said in a statement Wednesday.

The outbreak started on Aug. 23 after the death of a 31-year-old male in the country's Central Highlands region, a plague-endemic area, according to the World Health Organization. Ten cities have reported outbreaks of pneumonic plague, while there have also been cases of bubonic and septicemic plague, the United Nations body said on its website.

Plague is endemic in Madagascar and cases are reported almost every year. At least 79 people died after an outbreak in 2014 that continued into 2015. Bubonic plague is spread by rodents or sometimes directly to people who have been bitten by infected fleas, the WHO says. Pneumonic, or lung-based plague, is the most virulent form of the illness and can trigger severe epidemics through person-to-person contact via droplets in the air, according to the WHO. Untreated pneumonic plague is always fatal.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ny Aina Rahagala in Antanarivo at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.